CLEVELAND -- The Wayne State University men's tennis squad (3-0) won both of its matches on Friday, defeating Case Western Reserve University (4-2) 6-1 before topping the University of Northwestern Ohio (3-3) 4-3.

VS. CASE WESTERN RESERVE
DOUBLES
The Warriors won two of their three matches, earning the doubles point.

Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany / Altkönigschule Kronberg) and George Day (Southampton, United Kingdom / Peter Symonds College) triumphed 6-3 over the Spartans duo of Casey Hishinuma and Anmay Devaraj in the No. 1 position.  

In the No. 2 doubles spot, Sam Knowles (North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England / King's Priory School) and Tom Wasner (Altenholz, Germany / Friedrichsort Community School) got off to a hot start, tallying the first four points before CWRU's Leon Chen and Jon Totorica got onto the board.  The WSU pairing prevailed 6-1.

Max Faniel (Theux, Belgium / Collège Saint-François-Xavier S.S.) and Benjamin Hill (Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany / Burgau-Gymnasium) competed in the No. 3 doubles position against George Kosseifi and Trey Lambright.  The duos went back-and-forth and found themselves tied 4-4.  Kosseifi and Lambright tallied the final two points, as the Green and Gold pair fell 6-4.

SINGLES
Faniel was the first Warrior to finish play in singles, competing in the No. 6 spot.  The freshman tied the first set against Rowan Matorin 1-1, but the Spartan rattled off five of the next seven points, putting Faniel down one set.  Matorin won the second set 6-0.

Drenth and Knowles were the next two WSU student-athletes to finish.  Drenth captured a victory in the No. 1 position by defeating CWRU's Ajay Mahenthiran 6-2, 6-3 while never trailing.  Knowels battled in the first set with Konrad Kwiatkowski, prevailing 7-5.  The freshman carried his momentum into the second set of the match, toppling Kwiatkowski 6-1.

Day, competing in the No. 2 position, saw success in singles as well.  After a back-and-forth first set in which Day won 7-5, the freshman found himself down 2-1 to George Kosseifi in set two.  The Warrior tallied the next five points to claim victory, winning the match 7-5, 6-2.

Wasner and Klaus were the final two to finish, as both matches were decided by a tie-breaker set.  Wasner fell in the first set 7-5, but rallied back in the second to force the tie breaker with Santiago Salazar Garza.  The WSU student-athlete won the final set 10-2 and secured the victory. 

After winning his first set 6-3, Klaus dropped the second to Matthew Plunkett 7-6.  The graduate student got off to a hot start in the tie-breaker set as he held a 6-2 advantage.  The next thee points belonged to Plunkett, but Klaus notched four of the next seven points to close the set and win the match.

HEAD COACH BRYAN MORROW AFTER CASE WESTERN RESERVE
"Very complete match in which we played well.  Doubles had good energy, the No. 1 doubles looked solid, they made a lot of returns and served great.  The No. 2 doubles played the cleanest that they had all year, so I was very impressed there.  We lost a tough one in the No. 3 doubles, but Case Western always has a lot of players and a lot of good defensive players.  In singles, they took care of business.  Cedric (Drenth) took care of business as he often does.  He looked very athletic and was playing the style that we want.  George (Day) played a nice player (George Kosseifi) and finished the match out well.  Luis (Klaus) in the No. 3 position got his first win which is always important.  He showed really good courage and held his nerves together very nicely throughout the course of the match, so I am very happy for him.  Tom (Wasner) started out slow but then played well once he got going.  The third set tie-breaker was lights out for him, he played great.  Sam had a beautiful match, the first set started out hot, and then he had to stay and battle, but he kept in there and kept fighting and after that first set played a very clean second.  I am very happy with how he played and how he looked.  Max (Faniel) had his first singles action, he didn't quite get there but gained some valuable experience.  I am really proud of the boys.  The team chemistry, the way that they support each other, and the way that they compete on each and every court is exactly what we try to be as a team, so I am very happy."

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VS. NORTHWESTERN OHIO
DOUBLES
The Green and Gold earned the doubles point by winning all three matches.

Drenth and Day continued to impress, defeating Nils Messin and Lucas Perez 6-2 in the No. 1 position.

Knowles and Wasner also carried their success from the first match, triumphing over Francisco Perez Esnaola and Lucas Grana in a tight 7-5 match.

Hill saw his first doubles action of the day, as he paired with Klaus against Carlos Hernandez Cifuentes and Mete Koseoglu.  The Warrior duo won 6-3.

SINGLES
Day competed in the No. 1 singles position against Northwestern Ohio, and claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory vs. Mete Koseoglu.

Both Klaus and Wasner were defeated while appearing in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions respectively.  Klaus took the advantage early, recording the first two points of the match, but was ultimately downed by Francisco Perez Esnaola 6-3, 6-3.  Wasner opened the first set by notching the first point, but fell 6-1, 6-3 to Lucas Perez.

Knowles collected a victory in the No. 5 position, defeating Florian Smalto 6-1, 6-3. The freshman was in control throughout the match, gaining early advantages in both sets.  He began set one by tallying the first five points.

Faniel lost in a competitive match in the No. 6 position.  In the first set, the Warrior was tied with Nils Messin 5-5 but the Racer prevailed 7-5.  Despite holding a 6-5 advantage, Messin forced a tie breaker and ultimately won.

Hill was the final WSU student-athlete to finish, doing so in spectacular fashion.  the Sophomore went down early, losing the first set 7-6.  He fought back in the second, winning 6-4 and forcing a tie-breaker set. In that set, the two went back-and forth with Hill triumphing 14-12.

COACH MORROW AFTER NORTHWESTERN OHIO
"Played solid in doubles, getting the win at all three courts, we played well.  I am happy with where we are going there.  George (Day), a freshman, stepping into the No. 1 singles for the first time played a solid match against a very nice player and did what he had to do.  In the second set he played very clean.  Luis (Klaus) had a hard-fought match with his opponent but fell a little short.  Tom (Wasner) had a rough day, his opponent was very good, but he'll learn a lot about this one.  Sam played a very clean match, the first set was good and he took care of hi emotions in the second.  I am very proud if his maturity and the way that he has grown and the way that he is playing.  Max (Faniel) getting in, a hard-fought loss but he played well.  Benny (Hill), what he did is exactly what this team is about.  We say that pressure is a privilege and that adversity breads greatness, and the reality is he had all of that in that match.  He battled through some adverse things that happened, some unfortunate things that happened that did not stop him.  He just played until the end and played a great match.  I could not be happier for him, well earned and well deserved.  I am very proud of this team, we are getting better everyday.  I am proud of the guys and the fight that they showed."

UP NEXT
The Wayne State men's tennis team returns on Sunday, February 16, competing at Toledo University.  The match is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts.